The Riddler watches over The Batman cast in an eerie new magazine cover that comes just over a month ahead of the film's theatrical release. Originally created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, Edward Nygma made his comics debut in Detective Comics No. 140 in 1948, serving as an antagonist to Batman and Robin. The Riddler is well-known for his use of puzzles and brain-teasers in his crimes, leaving them around the city for the Dark Knight and Gotham police to solve, believing his intelligence to be above the authorities.
The villain, who would go on to become a part of Batman's rogues gallery, first made his live-action debut in the Adam West-starring Batman series portrayed by Frank Gorshin in seasons 1 and 3 and the spin-off film and by John Astin in season 2. The Riddler would later return to live-action in 1995 with Jim Carrey's well-received turn in Joel Schumacher's divisive Batman Forever and would return to the small screen with the prequel series Gotham, in which Cory Michael Smith stars as Edward Nygma working as a forensic scientist for the GCPD before eventually turning to crime. Paul Dano is set to bring a new take to The Riddler for Matt Reeves' The Batman, which is gearing up to hit theaters in March.
Ahead of the magazine hitting shelves next week, Matt Reeves took to Twitter to share Total Film's upcoming issues centered on The Batman. The exclusive subscribers' version of the issue sees the Riddler watching over The Batman cast on its eerie cover, while the newsstand version sees Pattinson's Dark Knight standing above them all. Check out the new covers below:
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Anticipation for Dano's portrayal of The Riddler in The Batman has been fairly high among audiences as he takes a much darker and more eerie approach to the character than that of his live-action predecessors. Though his demeanor and actions have left some tense for what's to come from his role in the film, some audiences have found his non-comic outfit to be more laughable than terrifying. Reeves has stated that the infamous Zodiac killer served as the primary influence for his version of The Riddler, which is ultimately evident in the character's outfit and his cryptic clues.
Dano's Riddler isn't the only iconic Dark Knight villain set to make their debut in The Batman, with Colin Farrell also starring as Oswald Cobblepot prior to becoming known as The Penguin throughout Gotham. Some audiences are also holding out hope for Barry Keoghan's GCPD officer Stanley Merkel to be set up as the Joker for Reeves' proposed trilogy, given his character serves as Jim Gordon's partner and the actor's acclaimed prior performances in villainous roles. Only time will tell what Reeves has planned for his ensemble roster when The Batman hits theaters on March 4.
Sources: Total Film/Matt Reeves/Twitter
